"Here's how the technology works: To store energy, electricity from the grid heats blocks of carbon inside insulated chambers filled with argon gas. When power is needed, the system pumps molten tin heated to a scorching 2,400°C (4,352°F) through graphite pipes - the only cost-effective material that can withstand those temperatures. Special solar panel-like devices called thermophotovoltaic cells then convert the heat back into electricity by capturing the white-hot tin's infrared light."
"If all goes to plan, Fourth Power plans to deliver commercial-scale batteries to customers in 2028 at a cost that could undercut both lithium-ion batteries and peaking natural-gas plants. "Our projections are for the first-of-a-kind - the first ones to market - that they'll be cost competitive," Arvin Ganesan, Fourth Power's co-founder and CEO, told TechCrunch. "Our comps for these markets are very high.""
Fourth Power develops long-duration thermal batteries using molten tin and argon-filled hermetically sealed chambers to enable cheap, round-the-clock renewable electricity. Charging heats carbon blocks inside insulated argon chambers using grid electricity. Discharge circulates molten tin at about 2,400°C through graphite pipes, and thermophotovoltaic cells convert emitted infrared light back into electricity. Insulation made from petroleum coke limits losses to roughly 1% per day. The company has been refining the system, is building a full-scale battery, and targets commercial deliveries in 2028 with costs potentially below lithium-ion and peaking natural-gas plants.
Read at TechCrunch
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